So I had a really crazy weekend. Well crazy in my book!
Friday night we celebrated Cody’s Dirty Thirty by renting a limo to come get us in Fort Morgan, take us to Denver to a show at Comedy Works, and then bring us back to Fort Morgan. It was a blast. There were 12 of us that rode the limo up then two of our friends met us there.
I had never been to Comedy Works before, but I had heard great things about it. We saw Felipe Esparza, the winner of Last Comic Standing in 2010. He was pretty funny. I really enjoyed the host and then the opener, who was from Oakland, CA. I honestly cannot remember what his name was…but he was a riot!
We got back home Friday night (or should I say Saturday morning) really late… we didn’t make it back until 2:30am. I am not the 2:00am type of gal anymore…. I am barely the 10:00pm type of girl! We had a lot of fun though, so it was worth it.
We had a couple work things to do Saturday so it was not the relaxing morning I was needing. We were out and about until about 3:00pm and then Donny & I crashed on the couch for a couple hours. I haven’t had time (or needed) to take a nap in a while, but I needed it badly Saturday! We woke up and invited our friends that live down the street, Trent & Mari, over for a cocktail (it was Mari’s birthday!).
Donny really wants to get into making craft cocktails so we tried our first one: the Old Fashioned! We bought a nice bottle of bourbon, bitters, and maraschino cherries. We had a couple oranges in the fridge and bam, Old Fashioned. The first one he made was a bit stout for my tastes. He made another for me with half the bourbon and I let it water down a bit in the ice. Perfect!
Cocktail Night #1 was a success!
I went to bed pretty early on Saturday night and then slept until 8:30am. I woke up, went grocery shopping, went to the gym (shoulders), stopped by Grandma Max’s house to see our beautiful niece Gemma (still as adorable as ever!), and came home to prep some meals for the week.
I bought chicken, tuna and pork tenderloin. We roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. Donny grilled bell peppers, zucchini and yellow squash, green beans, and potaoes. I also made quinoa, black beans in the crock pot, and egg whites. Lots of colorful food this week! I am still trying the #3ColorMeal Challenge from FitMenCook.com. I am lovin’ it! Even today my sister said “well that’s a pretty plate”. Why yes Lindsey, it is!
I hurried to get everything cooked hopped in the shower, and we took off for Denver. We met up with Kellen & Paige for dinner before the concert. They took us to Avanti Food & Beverage. It is amazing! Here is how the website describes it….
“One collective space. Seven culinary options. Inspired by European markets and food truck roundups we have created a modern day food hall. Seven different restaurant concepts, housed in modified shipping containers, will provide our guests with an eclectic mix of affordably priced, chef-inspired cuisine. Finally answering the age-old question, ‘where should we go eat?’ “
It had an ice cream truck outside so I was already impressed. Inside it had seven restaurants and two bars. Donny & I shared some Spicy Lamb Chilaquiles and a pizza. You basically walk up to whichever restaurant you want to eat at and it is a stand and order type deal. There are tables inside but also great outdoor seating. It is off Speer and I-25 if you ever get the chance to go. Amazing. We will be going back!
The concert was good. It was Twenty One Pilots, which I had never heard of. Echosmith opened for them, who I had actually heard of. The weather was fantastic and we had a great view of the lunar eclipse! Twenty One Pilots was a very entertaining band, but I was kind of over it by the time they started. We were also “the old people” at this concert…. lots of teenagers….lots.
It was 9:45pm once they got going and I didn’t know one single song. It is hard for me to enjoy a concert when I don’t really know the music…. especially when I know we have a 2-hour drive home. We left after about 40 minutes so that we could get home before I had to wake back up for bootcamp! We got home about 12:30pm and I had to get up at 4:20am for class… yikes. I don’t like starting the week off like that, but it was fun.
So yes, I was up not one, but two nights this weekend past midnight. Whaaaat?!? Who am I?!?!?
Anyway……….
Fall is here and there are only a couple more days until October. What do you think of when you think about October? Halloween anyone?! Candy anyone?!?! Caramel apples anyone?!?!?!?
Well here is a recipe for cookies that taste like caramel apples. Mind = blown.
I found a clean eating recipe for caramel sauce from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen, a healthy food blog. Here is her recipe for All-Purpose Caramel, which is what I used to top the cookies.
The actual cookie part has both applesauce and shredded apple, which gives them plenty of apple flavor! I do recommend keeping these in the refrigerator. I took some of these to work and set them out on the table. The caramel got running and sort of dripped off the cookies. It still tasted like caramel, but it was a little more messy than it should have been!
- 1/4 c grass-fed butter, softened
- 2 Tbsp Truvia baking blend
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 c almond flour
- 1/4 c coconut flour
- 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 c apple, shredded
- Caramel Sauce from Lexi's Clean Kitchen
- Flaked sea salt for sprinkling on top (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and truvia until smooth. Stir in the egg and applesauce.
- Add both flours to the mixing bowl and stir until well combined. Add the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla to the mixing bowl.
- Add the shredded apple and stir until evenly distributed.
- Refrigerate dough at least one hour.
- Roll one tablespoon of dough into a ball and evenly space on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie using your hand or a large spoon.
- Bake for 16 minutes and allow to cool on a wire rack.
- Transfer the cookies back to the parchment-paper lined cookie sheet once they are cool. Drizzle or spoon the caramel sauce onto each cookie. Top with flaked sea salt.
- Store cookies in an airtight contained for one week. Keep refrigerated.
- To easily drizzle the caramel sauce on each cookie, fill a freezer Ziploc bag with the caramel. Snip the corner of one end of the bag and drizzle caramel over cookies.
